By tossing his hat into the ring, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack has transformed the campaign for
Florida's U.S. Senate seat, putting him far ahead of the field for the Republican nomination and
in a statistical dead heat in the general election, with 40 percent to incumbent Democrat Bill
Nelson's 42 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Mack, son of the former U.S. senator who bears his same name, gets 32 percent of the
vote in the GOP primary, while none of the other four mostly unknown aspirants get more than 9
percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey finds.

Questions regarding U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's comments about when his family emigrated
from Cuba have had almost no effect on his job approval rating. He receives a 49 - 29 percent
score, no change from the 49 - 31 percent thumbs up September 21.

Gov. Rick Scott's job approval remains in the toilet: 36 percent approve of his job
performance, while 50 percent disapprove. Among independent voters, the key to carrying
Florida, Scott has a 56 - 29 percent disapproval rating. Scott gets a 67 - 22 percent thumbs up
among Republicans, but a 73 - 14 percent thumbs down from Democrats. He does okay with
men, who split 43 - 46 percent, but woman say no way 55 - 30 percent.

"The entrance of Congressman Connie Mack into the Senate race changes what had been
shaping up as an easy reelection for Sen. Bill Nelson into a tough fight that the incumbent could
lose," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The
fact that Mack is essentially tied with Nelson, who has been a statewide political figure for two
decades, should set off warning bells at Democratic headquarters."

Also-rans in the GOP primary are former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux with 9 percent,
former army officer Mike McCalister at 6 percent and 2 percent each for businessman Craig
Miller and former state House GOP leader Adam Hasner.

"Although 45 percent of GOP voters, including 59 percent of GOP women, say they are
undecided, Mack becomes the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination," Brown
said. "Mack's candidacy may force the other GOP contenders to reconsider whether they want
to stay in the race."

"In a race as close as the Nelson-Mack affair could become, how President Barack
Obama does in the Sunshine State in his re-election could play a major role in deciding who wins
the Senate seat," said Brown.

From October 31 - November 7, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,185 registered voters
with a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell
phones. The survey includes 513 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia
and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

2a. (If Registered Republican) If the 2012 Republican primary for United States Senator were being held today, and the candidates were Connie Mack, Adam Hasner, George LeMieux, Craig Miller and Mike McCalister for whom would you vote?

TREND: (If registered Republican)If the 2012 Republican primary for United States Senator were being held today, and the candidates were Connie Mack, Adam Hasner, George LeMieux, Craig Miller and Mike McCalister for whom would you vote? (na=not asked)